Programming Concepts Intermediate

What is Functional Programming?

A programming paradigm that treats computation as the evaluation of mathematical functions, avoiding state changes and mutable data.

Functional programming emphasizes pure functions (same input always produces same output, no side effects), immutable data, and function composition. Key concepts include map, filter, reduce, recursion, and higher-order functions.

Benefits include easier testing (pure functions), parallelism (no shared state), and predictable behavior. Languages include Haskell, Erlang, Clojure, and Scala. Most modern languages (Python, JavaScript, Java) support functional features.

Related Terms

A data structure that follows First-In-First-Out (FIFO) ordering, where elements are added at the rear and removed from the front.

The smallest unit of execution within a process, allowing concurrent operations to run within a single program.

Dependency Injection

A design pattern where objects receive their dependencies from external sources rather than creating them internally.

SOLID Principles

Five design principles for writing maintainable, flexible object-oriented code: Single Responsibility, Open-Closed, Liskov Substitution, Interface Segregation, and Dependency Inversion.

A software development methodology that emphasizes iterative development, collaboration, and rapid response to change.

A mathematical notation that describes the worst-case performance of an algorithm as input size grows.

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